Ohio AG sues defunct company over vouchers

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a lawsuit on Wednesday against a defunct Columbus deal voucher seller that allegedly failed to deliver the vouchers to consumers.

Giviton LLC sold vouchers on its website, Giviton.com, for deals such as paying $10 for $20 worth of services at a local business. Consumers could print the coupons right away or go back to the website to access the vouchers through their accounts. In July, Giviton's website shut down and consumers who paid in full alleged they could no longer access their vouchers.

Other consumers alleged their vouchers were not honored by local businesses because of purported disputes between Giviton and the businesses.

"Consumers paid in full for deals they were never able to redeem," DeWine said. "We attempted to resolve the issues out of court, but the business failed to comply with the agreed terms. We are taking action to try to recover money for consumers and to prevent this from happening again."

DeWine's office and the Better Business Bureau received at least 32 complaints about Giviton, alleging losses of more than $4,000 in total.

DeWine's lawsuit alleges Giviton violated the Consumer Sales Practices Act by accepting money from consumers for goods and permitting eight weeks to elapse without providing the goods or issuing full refunds. The suit seeks consumer restitution, an injunction to stop future violations and civil penalties.